A Match Made in Alaska

by Belle Calhoune

  “I’d much rather eat with a female dining companion,” Zachariah grumbled. “I’ve got a bone to pick with Jasper about all these young women coming to Love. When is the senior set going to be matched up with women in our age group?”

  “Good point, Zach. You’ve still got a little life in you yet.” Eli laughed heartily.

  “If Jasper can get a girl, I shouldn’t be sitting around like a wallflower,” Zachariah said with a frown. “You’ve got Cilla.”

  Declan tried not to laugh. Eli and Zachariah were cronies of Jasper. Eli had been happily married to his sweetheart since they were in their late teens. The three of them, along with his own grandfather, Killian, had grown up in each other’s pockets. They had formed a tight circle of friendship that went all the way back to their toddler years. When Jasper joined up with them, it was a rib-tickling, hilarious spectacle.

  “Enjoy your lunch, boys,” Declan said as he made his way toward a table in the back. If Annie wanted to discuss her grandmother’s diary entries, she might want a little privacy. Poor Annie, he thought. She was clearly trying to fill a void after losing her beloved Gram. Latching on to the idea of finding a family member here in town was a direct result of her grief. Perhaps the best assistance he could provide would be to lend her a pair of listening ears. After all these years, it seemed unlikely that she would find those answers.

  “Hey! Surprised to see you sitting all alone,” Cameron said as he walked up. “I can’t think of the last time you didn’t have a dining companion,” he said, handing Declan a menu.

  “I’m meeting my friend Annie for lunch. She should be here any minute,” he announced, his lips twitching at the kooky T-shirt Cameron was wearing. It featured a moose drinking coffee.

  “The new librarian?” Cameron asked. When Declan nodded, he continued. “Paige said there are already a dozen men or more clamoring to take her out. They said she can’t be pried away from the library setup, but once she has some free time, there are plenty of men who are going to try to woo her. Pretty impressive, huh?”

  Declan slapped the menu down on the table. “Yep,” Declan snapped. “That’s the way of things around here lately. The minute a beautiful woman steps foot in town, the buzzards start circling.”

  Cameron chuckled. “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it? I mean, this is all Jasper’s doing, if you recall. Operation Love was his grand plan. His call to action to save the town.” He shook his head. “You can’t blame men for wanting to get dibs.”

  Declan scowled. “Dibs? Annie Murray is the town librarian, Cam. Not a toy to be claimed by some lonesome Alaskan bachelors,” he grumbled. He let out a grunt. “Dibs! Never heard of such a thing.”

  Cameron gaped at him. “That plane crash might have scrambled your brain, Declan. I wasn’t saying anything even remotely like that.” He placed another menu down across from him. “Why don’t I leave you to ponder the menu? We have a new turkey and Swiss wrap with pastrami that folks are going crazy over. I’ll throw in two mochaccinos for you and Annie as a way of welcoming her to town. As far as I know, she hasn’t been in here yet.” Cameron shook his head at him as if he didn’t quite know what to make of him.

  Declan muttered under his breath as he watched Cameron walk toward the kitchen. Maybe he had been a bit touchy about the subject of Annie. He felt protective of her, which made it hard for him to hear about half the male population in town drooling over her. She was so much more than a participant in Operation Love. Annie had heart and soul and depth. Some of these men knew little or nothing about how to court a woman. Declan laughed out loud. Their idea of a date was moose watching.

  Just then he spotted Annie sailing through the door of the café. Once again, she was decked out in an outfit that harkened back to another era. Vintage clothes, if he wasn’t mistaken. She was wearing black tights and a black dress with red cherries printed on it. A red wool coat reached down to her knees. Once again, she was wearing her Lovely boots. She looked breathtaking.

  He waved her over to his seat, frowning at several men who attempted to stop Annie from making her way toward him. They were full of smiles and flirtatious gestures. Just as he was about to stand up and escort her over, he watched as she smiled politely, then sidestepped them.

  Declan jumped up to pull out Annie’s chair for her. A few hostile glares were sent in his direction by some of the male patrons. He couldn’t help but grin at them. The looks on their faces made him want to crack up laughing. So much for dibs.

  “Good afternoon, Declan,” Annie said as she stopped at his table and sat down. “How was your flight to Kodiak this morning?” she asked.

  He’d been hoping Annie wouldn’t inquire about his client. “Hi, Annie. Unfortunately I didn’t make the run,” he confessed.

  She paused in the process of taking off her coat. Her dark lashes fluttered. “What happened?”

  “I had a bad feeling about Ethel not being fit to make the trip. Spent the morning giving her the once-over and a little maintenance,” he said lamely. Backing out of a scheduled flight was a new thing for him. Never in all of his years of flying had he done so. And he wasn’t feeling good about it. Fear and anxiety had driven the decision, and he hated the way it felt to have done something so uncharacteristic for all the wrong reasons.

  “She was fine last week when she flew us back to Love,” Annie noted. “Or so it seemed.”

  “After what happened with Lucy, I had to make sure,” he said sheepishly. “At this point, the stakes are too high to make reckless choices.”

  Annie leaned forward in her chair and put her arms on the table. “It’s okay to be a little reticent about flying again. It’s only natural that you would have some jitters after the crash.”

  “That’s not it!” he said with a fierce shake of his head. “I can’t risk a plane malfunction. Not when I’m down to one plane,” he insisted. He could hear the hard edge to his voice. Why couldn’t he just admit to Annie that he was nervous to fly again?

  Annie bit her lip. “I don’t want to overstep, but you seem...troubled about something.”

  How in the world could Annie read him so well? He’d been doing his best to keep a lid on his chaotic feelings. Her steady gaze let him know she wasn’t going to be pacified if he shrugged off her concern. “I had a rather disappointing conversation with the insurance company,” he admitted. He drummed his fingers on the table and looked down. “Because I changed my policy a few months ago, the payout from the insurance company is going to fall short of what I need to buy another plane.”

  “Oh, Declan,” Annie said, her tone infused with empathy. “Is there any way to bridge the gap between the insurance payout and the cost of a seaplane?”

  “I have to be honest.” He ran his hand over his face as the enormity of the situation crashed over him. “I don’t know how I’m going to make up the difference. It’s only been recently that we’ve begun to bring in a steady income and provide a salary for another pilot. Sadly it hasn’t allowed me to shore up my savings account.”

  That was putting it mildly. His savings account was paltry at best. If he thought about it any longer, he wasn’t sure he could keep his head up. Everything he had worked so hard to achieve hung in the balance. And it scared him. Who was Declan O’Rourke without his aviation company? All this time he’d been trying to build something for himself, a legacy that would help him stamp out the darkness of his past.

  “I wish there was something I could do to help,” Annie said. A sad expression was etched on her face. She bowed her head. “I’m going to put my thinking cap on and pray about it. That’s what I always do when something seems insurmountable.”

  He reached across the table and lifted her chin up. “Hey. It’s not the end of the world. I’ll land on my feet. I always do. Prayers are always appreciated, though,” he said in a lighthearted tone.

  Never let ’em see you
cry. After a lifetime of living by that credo, it was hard to let it go, especially since the thought of being vulnerable in front of Annie terrified him. Even after his mother’s death, he had stuffed all those feelings down and buried them. Somewhere along the way, he had learned that showing vulnerability was a weakness.

  “Hey, Declan! Sorry that it took me so long to come take y’all’s order!” Sophie stood beside their table with two mochaccinos in her hands. She also was wearing the official Moose Café T-shirt with a big-eyed moose on it.

  Declan felt an immediate sense of relief when Sophie showed up at the perfect moment. She diffused the heavy tension that had been lingering in the air.

  Sophie placed the drinks down on the table. “These are on the house, per Cameron’s instructions.” She flashed a huge grin in Annie’s direction. “Howdy! You must be Annie Murray. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Sophie Miller. And believe it or not, we’re neighbors at the Black Bear Cabins.” She stuck out her hand. Annie reached out and shook it vigorously. I’ve been meaning to drop in on you at the cabins, but my work schedule has been crazy lately. I’ve been working the early-morning shift.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sophie,” Annie murmured. “Hazel mentioned we were neighbors. No wonder we haven’t crossed paths. Most of my waking hours have been spent over at the library.”

  “Pleased to meet you. I’d love to catch up with you, Annie, when I have some downtime. I can give you some pointers on life in a small fishing village and how to make a smooth transition to Alaskan living.” She looked around at the bustling crowd of diners. “Let me take your order before this place erupts into chaos. What’ll it be, folks?”

  Annie looked at Declan. “Why don’t the two of you suggest something since this is my first time here?” She swung her gaze back up to Sophie. “Any specials?”

  “Lots of specials. Today we have a really nice halibut chowder, a Reuben sandwich with polenta fritters, caribou stew in a bread bowl and turkey-lime burgers with sweet potato fries,” Sophie recited off the top of her head.

  “And there’s always reindeer pizza,” Declan said. He rubbed his stomach with appreciation.

  Annie wrinkled her nose. “I think I’ll pass on the reindeer pizza. At least for now,” she said.

  Sophie winked at her. “It’s an acquired taste. If people had told me a year ago that I would enjoy reindeer pizza, I would have called them all kinds of crazy.”

  “The halibut chowder sounds perfect,” Annie said. “I’m starving.”

  “And I’ll have the Reuben sandwich,” Declan said, scooping up the menus and handing them to Sophie.

  “Coming up in a jiffy,” Sophie chirped as she walked away.

  Annie’s gaze trailed after Sophie. “She’s quite the whirlwind.”

  Declan let out a throaty chuckle. “She’s a sweetheart through and through. Not a single mean bone in her entire body. Like yourself, Sophie came to Love to be a participant in Operation Love. She’s really found her groove as a barista and waitress here at the café.”

  “She’s like a burst of sunshine,” Annie said, her voice filled with awe. “That’s priceless.”

  Declan took a swig of his drink and let out a sigh of appreciation. “Cameron sure does know how to make a mean mochaccino.” He placed his drink back down. “So, why don’t you tell me about your search? How’s it going?”

  Annie bit her lip. “I don’t want to bend your ear about my quest to find my roots when you’re in such a pickle.”

  A pickle! Yes, he was definitely up a creek without a paddle at the moment. And it scared him. A heavy weight had been sitting on his chest ever since the crash. And after his discussion with the insurance agent, the harsh realities were beginning to set in. He knew far too well that this situation had the potential to derail O’Rourke Charters and rip apart his life in the process.

  “You’re down to one plane and you’re experiencing...” her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat. “Mechanical difficulties?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “There’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. Hearing about your search for your grandfather will serve as a distraction.” He jutted his chin in her direction. “Give me something else to think about.”

  “If you insist.” She let out a little sigh and pulled a journal from her purse. She held it up for him to see. “I’ve studied this inside and out. Gram was a little inconsistent about writing in it every day, but her descriptions are so vivid that I feel like I was right there alongside her. She talks about her friends, life here in Love and falling for a young man she had known since she was a tadpole, as she calls it.”

  Declan could see the excitement lighting up her face. Once again he was very conscious of how attractive Annie was, particularly when she smiled. It filled him with a sense of happiness to see her so delighted. He sensed that Annie wanted to be tied to people. Having lost her grandmother, she was clearly seeking meaningful connections. Finding her grandfather in Love would give her a sense of being linked to something solid.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if Annie was being overly optimistic. Was she so blinded by her desire for family ties that she was dreaming of things that might never come to pass?

  Declan didn’t want to imagine her being disappointed if this all didn’t unfold the way she expected. Perhaps it was his job to bring her down to earth and ground her in reality.

  He splayed his hands on the wooden table and leaned forward. “So, what’s your grand plan, Annie? Where do you see this going from here?”

  She blew out a deep breath. Her eyes radiated excitement. “This may sound brash, but I want to tell him that I think I’m his granddaughter.”

  He knitted his brows together. “Did I miss something? Him who?” Declan asked.

  She met his gaze, her brown eyes sparkling with conviction. “The man I’ve deduced was Gram’s one true love. Jasper Prescott, that’s who.”

  * * *

  Declan began to sputter uncontrollably. He coughed into his hand. He reached for his mochaccino and took a lengthy sip. He plunked the mug back down. “J-Jasper! That’s who you think is your long-lost grandfather? The mayor of Love?”

  “Yes, I do,” Annie said with a determined tilt of her chin. “All the facts point toward him. I’ve read every word in Gram’s journal dozens of times. It all fits together like pieces of a puzzle.”

  “Annie,” Declan said. “Of all the people to set your sights on,” he said with a groan.

  “It’s not like I chose him. Gram did,” she said, opening the journal and scanning it for a few moments before placing it in front of Declan. She pointed to the top of a page. “See? Read it. Right there.”

  Declan peered down at the journal and squinted. “I—I can’t make out her cursive writing. Too many loops and curves.”

  “Let me read it for you,” Annie said. With a quick glance around her to make sure no one could overhear, she proceeded to read. “‘Spent the day at Nottingham Woods with the gang. Jasper is such a gentleman.’” She raised her eyes up from the diary and gave Declan a knowing look.

  “What? Is that it? You think Jasper is your grandfather due to some random comment about his manners?” Declan sat back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. He let out a sigh.

  “That’s not the only reference,” she said in a low voice. “Check this one out.” She quickly flipped through the journal “Aha! ‘I danced with Jasper cheek to cheek. Swoon.’”

  Declan let out a hoot of laughter. “If this were a court of law, your case would be thrown out on its ear.”

  Annie felt her cheeks reddening. His gibe wounded her. She slammed the journal shut. “I didn’t come here to be laughed at! This isn’t a joke to me. He might be the only family link I have left in this world.”

  Declan reached out and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry. It ju
st struck me as a tad funny. Please tell me there are some guys who show up in that diary other than Jasper.”

  Annie took out her notebook and peered down at what she had written. She frowned.

  “There are others she mentions. Eli, Zach and Killian.”

  Declan shot up in his chair. “Killian. That’s my grandpop.”

  Annie began writing furiously in her notebook. By the time she swung her gaze back up, the expression on Declan’s face had shifted to one of mild panic. “What’s the matter?” She threw her head back and laughed. “I hope you don’t think we’re related.”

  Declan gulped. “Well, you did throw his name out there.”

  “In these pages, Gram makes it clear that Killian was married to her best friend, Lucy. Sounds like they got married at an early age. High school, I believe.”

  Declan let out the breath he’d been holding. “Yes. My grandparents were very devoted to each other until the day she died.”

  “Lucy!” Annie said in an awed voice. “You named your plane after her.”

  “I did,” Declan acknowledged with a nod. “She was pure sweetness, my grandmother. Way too fragile for the Alaskan lifestyle.”

  “Did she leave as part of the exodus Jasper mentioned in his interview?” Annie asked. She knew from reading newspaper interviews featuring Jasper that his own wife, Harmony, had been one of the many women to have picked up stakes and left Love for greener pastures. The exodus from Love decades ago had led to the male-female imbalance in the present that had caused Jasper to create the Operation Love program.

  “No, she didn’t. A lot of her best friends and relatives left, but she remained stalwart. She stuck it out in Alaska until she passed on to glory, Annie. Truly I think that’s the only thing that could have separated her from Grandpop.”

  Nothing but love emanated from Declan’s voice. And deep respect. Although she was tempted to ask about his parents, she knew better than to open a can of worms. She didn’t want to bring up a topic that might cause him pain. Hazel’s words rang in her ears. Finn and Declan lost their childhood, all in one fell swoop. It was reassuring to know that despite the tragedies that had marred his young life, there had been other influences at play. His grandparents had demonstrated the enduring nature of their love.